Under the Gujarat Pension Rules, the legally wedded wife of a male government employee is entitled to family pension despite any erroneous nomination by the employee prioritizing someone else.

JUDGMENT :

Nikhil S. Kariel, J.

1. Heard learned Advocate Mr. Harsh V. Gajjar for the petitioner, learned AGP Ms. Nirali Sarda for the respondent-State and learned Advocate Ms. E. Shailaja for the respondent No.4.

2. By way of this petition, the petitioner seeks for issuance of a writ directing the respondents to pay family pension and arrears thereof due from May, 2021 till date of payment and for regular payment thereof and the petitioner also seeks for interest at the rate of 10% upon the arrears of pension.

3. It appears that the petitioner is the legally wedded wife of one Seturam Laxmanbhai Vaghela, who had retired as Auditor, Grade -II, from the Office of the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Gujarat State. It would appear that the employee, who had retired on 30.06.2020, and had expired on 28.04.2021, had filled in his pension papers and whereas in the nomination from, the employee has shown himself as unmarried and has named his sister i.e. respondent No.4 herein as his nominee. It appears to be the case of the petitioner that the petitioner is legally wedded wife of the said deceased employee and whereas the deceased employee is survived by the petitioner and a son namely Sumitkumar Vaghela, aged about 30 years. It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner and the deceased employee, though being husband and wife, had issues inter-se and whereas the petitioner who was residing separately from the late husband had also filed application under Section 125 of the CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE for grant of maintenance and whereas orders passed therein, had been challenged by the petitioner and later on, by the late husband of the petitioner. It is the case of the petitioner that under the extant rules, it is the wife who would be entitled to receive family pension and whereas the employee does not have any right whatsoever to nominate anyone else other than the wife, in case of a male employee , as the recipient of the family pension.

4. Learned Advocate Mr. Gajjar for the petitioner would take this Court through the relevant Rules namely Rules, 82, 85, 88 as well as 91 of the Gujarat Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2002 and would submit that the Rules inter alia do not envisage the employee being entitled to nominate anyone else i.e. in case of a husband, a wife and in case of a wife, a husband, as the nominee. Learned Advocate would further submit that while the marriage had run into rough weather, but at the same time, there was no legal separation between the husband and wife. Learned Advocate would submit that, under such circumstances, the petitioner as a wife of the deceased employee would be entitled to payment of family pension. Learned Advocate would also rely upon decision of this Court in case of Parvatiben wd/o Shankarbhai Patel Vs. State of Gujarat and another , dated 01.04.2024 in Special Civil Application No. 5094 of 2024 in support of his submissions.

4.1 Learned Advocate Mr. Gajjar would also rely upon decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case of D.D. Tiwari (Dead) Through Legal Representatives Vs. Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited and Others, reported in (2014) 8 SCC 894 , in support of his submission that the petitioner should be paid interest upon the arrears of pension.

5. Learned AGP Ms. Nirali Sarda for the respondent-State would submit that as such, the dispute had arisen on account of the deceased husband of the petitioner having mentioned in the nomination form as being an unmarried person and whereas upon verification, while the State is clear that the petitioner is the legally wedded wife o